Darkness Within
by rinzeruu
Summary: Link was stuck in a time gate, where a dark version of himself escapes before he does. He has to find a way to destroy his darkness within before his darkness destroys him and his close ones. Zelink.


_A/N: Hey guys! :D _

_Here's my first fanfiction for this website, I hope you like it! ;u;_

_This'll contain a LOT of Zelink, some DarkLink x Zelda, and DarkLink x Zelda x Link. :D _

_Please review, I really need it, lol D: _

_Disclaimer: I don't own The legend of Zelda series :(_

~Chapter 1: Disappearance.

"Someone's out to kill you." were the first few words that Zelda had heard since she'd risen from her slumber.  
>The young blonde female looked up at the old womans' concerned face and studied her expression, with a faint hope that she may be joking. After a few moments pause, her lips curled into a half- smile.<br>"Ah, Impa…" she sighed. "It seems everyone's out to kill someone nowadays."  
>Impa grimaced at the princesses' half- hearted reply. "Your highness, this is something that you shouldn't joke about! Your life could be in danger, yet you sit here and give me a reply like that?"<br>Zelda looked down and focused her gaze on the dent in the wooden table that she was sitting at, refusing to look at Impa in the eye.  
>"I'm sure it's just a false alarm… Like every other time was." she muttered quietly. Her reply had only been meant for her to hear, yet Impa had heard it quite clearly, and it didn't make her any happier. "You should never let your guard down… You know that. Whatever has made you this deluded that you ignore your own fate?"<br>"I wouldn't go that far, Impa." Zelda protested, unintentionally sounding a tad angry.  
>Withdrawing a bit, Impa quietened down and sat in her seat with a huff. After a few minutes of silence, she gained the courage to speak. "…It's Link, isn't it? You're still searching for him?" she lowered her voice to a small whisper, only allowing Zelda to hear her remark. Even though they were in a supposedly private room, you never knew who was trying to eavesdrop.<br>Zelda shifted uncomfortably in her seat when she heard Impa's reply. She picked at her finger nails for a few moments, and after some thought, she decided to keep quiet and pretend she didn't hear anything.  
>Impa slammed her hand on the table in annoyance. When it came to the young hero, Zelda would do anything for him. Even search for him, who had disappeared almost a year ago, with no trace at all of his whereabouts. That's if he was still alive.<br>"Zelda. I want you to look me in the eye and answer me truthfully. Are you still hopelessly searching for Link?"  
>Zelda snapped her head up and glared at Impa. "It's not a hopeless search. I will find him." She hissed.<br>Slightly satisfied, Impa sat back and folded her arms. She didn't reply, but she raised her eyebrows and nodded in amusement. Of course Zelda was still trying to find Link. There was no way that she was going to give up that easily. Link had been missing for almost two years now, and Zelda found it a challenge to leave her castle to look for him by herself, and so she'd often be found ordering her soldiers to go off to sought after Link, following her strategies that she'd thought up of. But unfortunately, so far there wasn't even a trace of Link. And he was too much of a gentleman to leave for so long without any notice. Zelda stood up and sighed.

"Where is he….?" She mumbled to herself as she slowly headed back to her own quarters. A feeling of anger slowly filled in Impa's gut. Who in Hyrule did Link think he was, leaving a young woman in love for this long? Impa followed after Zelda; even though she knew that since Zelda had retreated to her room- the most private place in the palace- meant she wanted to be alone, there were still some issues to discuss. Like how someone was out to kill her. However, her plans were cut short when she heard some quiet sobs. One could identify them as sighs, but they were sobs all the same. Deciding to give the princess her wanted privacy, Impa sighed and sat back in her chair to wait for the princess to come out of her room.

Four years ago, a young 17 year old boy awakened as the chosen hero by the gods and goddesses of the land. He was but a mere farmer; he spent his days riding his horse, sleeping and helping out the other villages of Ordon. Nobody expected that he'd be the one to rid the world of the dark lord Ganondorf. He was blessed with the triforce of courage; later on he met Princess Zelda, who was blessed with the triforce of wisdom, and a not- so- pleasant meeting with Ganondorf, who'd been somehow blessed with the triforce of power. With the help of Zelda, Link finally defeated Ganondorf and gained the true title of the "hero of the goddesses".

The next 2 years breezed by like the wind. Link and Zelda spent a lot of time together, and when Link did go on his adventures, he'd always be back by the next full moon. When he was 19 and Zelda 20, however, one full moon he didn't return. Being naturally patient, Zelda waited. But the next month went by, and no sign of him. Almost instantly, a whole season went by, and it quickly turned into a year, which then progressed into the next... It became horribly clear to Zelda that Link had gone missing.

It wasn't until nightfall when Zelda came out of her room. At the sight of the princess, Impa immediately stood up and smiled, glad that she had lightened up a bit. Before Zelda could open her mouth to greet Impa, Impa clapped her hands together and stared at Zelda seriously.

"Zelda." She said, not taking her gaze away from the young princess, "We need to talk about the rumour that-"

"…someone is trying to kill me?" Zelda finished the sentence for her.

Impa half-smiled and nodded. "I know I'm pestering you about this, but we can't let it slide, especially if it's not a fluke this time."

Zelda nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry for being so….. rash. I agree completely. I've just been very determined to find Link that I… forgot about everything else…" She scratched her head apologetically and sat down opposite to Impa. Clearing her throat, she continued. "Have there been any sightings of this person? Any proof?"

"The guards said that they've seen a shadow lurking around the castle, but before they can catch him, he always disappears. There's also been some dead castle bodies lying around, and they died from unknown reasons."

Zelda hesitated. She shook her head slowly and her eyebrows knitted together. "How long has this been going on for?"

"Not long. Maybe just under a week. We had to make sure that it wasn't a fluke before we said anything to you, Zelda."

Nodding in reply, Zelda silently planned her next move. She tapped her finger on the table, closed her eyes and thought. This was her fault that some had lost their lives already, and she wanted to put it to a stop before anything worse happened. She leaned back in her chair, and bit her lower lip. It had been unnaturally quiet these few years- even before Ganondorfs reign, there was something else bothering going around somewhere. After a few minutes' silence, Zelda suddenly jolted up to look at Impa, who was waiting patiently to hear the princesses' new plan.

"When things go quiet, doesn't that mean a group of people are organising an ambush? Or an assassination?" Zelda murmured, still thinking hard about the situation at hand. Impa decided not to act as surprised as she was, and just slowly nodded her head. She had thought it could be that, but wasn't entirely sure- she wanted to hear what the princess had to say. After another few tense minutes of silence, Impa realised that the princess wasn't going to add any more without a nudge from someone. "So what will we do?" Impa asked politely.

Zelda frowned, and raised a hand to show that she was thinking. She didn't want to kill anyone more, but if this was the truth, and there were people after her and Hyrule, then she was going to have to act. And fast. Playing with her hair, she looked up to Impa and her expression softened into her 'poker face'.

"We should give them their own medicine- We'll act in secret, we'll plan our defences in secret, so we'll be just as prepared as they are." Before Impa could add an objection, Zelda continued, knowing exactly what Impa was going to say. "I know this'll be hard, and if Hylians see a load of supplies; not to mention, supplies for purposes other than for food and shelter coming into Hyrule castle, then yes, they will get suspicious. But have we not got many supplies already? My only concern is how suspicious they'll get if there's a load of Hylian knights patrolling the castle more than usual."

Impa nodded. "Yes, that is a big concern. I'm sure we'll think of something. Why don't we all sleep on it, and see what happens. Maybe one of us will think of a brilliant idea overnight." She laughed nervously at her silly statement.

"Don't hope for the impossible." Zelda said, unable to resist the urge to smile.

Finally, Impa stood up and excused herself. "It's been a long day, emotionally speaking. You really should get some rest."

As Impa walked out of Zelda's chambers and closed the door, Zelda walked up to the large window and sighed. "At times like this…" She murmured, "We really need you, Link."

Zelda didn't sleep well that night. She had a dream, about Nayru the goddess of wisdom. She couldn't see her, yet she heard her; she told her who she was, asked Zelda how she felt…. And told her to run. When Zelda had asked why, the goddess would only answer, "to keep your fate from changing."

Zelda woke up multiple times, and when she fell back asleep, the dream kept on repeating itself.

Just as the sun was beginning to rise in Hyrule, Zelda woke up for the final time. She was wheezy, and a lot of sweat was dripping on her back. She got up to look at herself in the mirror. She didn't know how much peaceful sleep she'd successfully gotten, but there were bags underneath her violet eyes that weren't there before. Her dark blonde hair was in a mess, and her skin had dulled due to lack of sleep. She sighed at her state, and went to lie down again. Staring at the high ceiling of Hyrule castle, she contemplated about the dream that she'd had that night. She must've gone deep into thought, because what seemed like only minutes later, Impa burst through the door.

"Why are you still in bed?" She gasped. "Today you have to be in the throne room! Many villagers are waiting!"

Zelda jolted up, surprised by Impa's sudden entrance. She calmed herself down instantly, and forced a reassuring smile at Impa. "Sorry, I just… had a lot on my mind."

Impa nodded apologetically. "I know. Oh, and Zelda… If this event worries you about your safety, don't worry about it. I'm using this as bait, to see if they show themselves. The guards and I will look for any suspicious activity. So even if they don't attack, then we may have an idea of who it is."

Zelda couldn't help but smirk at Impa's idea. "I figured as much. Let's just hope it goes as planned."

Impa sighed and nodded. "Let's just hope indeed…."

Zelda let a small groan escape her throat. She disliked it when she had to sit on her thrown, all day. Of course villagers would come from time to time to talk to her, but they were either requests or complaints- either way, Zelda would have to take her time to explain in every detail about the subject. Even if she didn't know what they were on about. She put on her 'princess smile' once more, and allowed the visitors to talk.

A farmer from Ordon had come to visit her today, bearing gifts and suggesting that she were to visit the village. She would have to explain why she was unable to, yet again. But she couldn't help her mind wonder, and her dream started to bother her once more. She used to get those dreams a lot when she was younger, when…. Link had started to awaken as the hero. However, back then, Nayru warned her of Ganondorf and about Link's awakening. She knew that she'd have to tell Impa- that she should have told her already. When the farmer noticed that she'd just stopped talking and was staring into nothing, with great hesitation, he murmured, "Your highness…..?"

Zelda jumped and came to. Blinking a few times and offering him an apologetic smile. Realizing that she wasn't at her best, the farmer excused himself and left her to be. She sighed and leaned on her hand. Where was Impa when she needed her?

The day lagged on, and eventually the hall was emptied, with only the princess and her guards in the room. Zelda looked out one of the arch windows, and watched the sun set. One of the guards nudged her gently.

"Your highness, this is the last one for today." He mumbled. Zelda looked up, and blinked in surprise at the figure. They were hooded in a black cloak, and she was unable to see their face. But what made her even more bewildered was when they spoke.

"Hello, your majesty." It was a young man's voice, and Zelda got a hit of nostalgia. Her eyes widened, and tears began to well. She dared utter his name, and after a few moments of silence, she spoke.

"L…Link?" She murmured, a pang in her gut as she said his name. It killed her to feel so hopeful, so… angry.

A smirk entered on the man's face. "Not quite."

He took off his cloak and threw it roughly on the ground. He looked exactly like the young hero; except there was something different about him. His aura was darker, more evil. He had the same face, the same features… But his green outfit was now black, and his shaggy hair was white, not a dirty blonde. But what scared her most were his eyes. They weren't blue. They were red.

Zelda stood up and took her sword, and pointed it at the imposter. The guards realised the he was a threat and also got into their battle stance. The look-a-like Link started to laugh at their efforts. He took out his sword and charged. Not a Zelda, but her two Guards. He knocked them down with ease, and as they were about to get up, he chuckled at their failure and knocked them down again- this time, with a stronger blow, and stabbed one of the guards in the chest. As he yelled in pain, Zelda walked in front of the guard, not wanting anyone else to get hurt. She was trembling- not because of fear, but because of pain, because of confusion.

"You… you're not Link. You can't be!" She spat, holding her ground. He only smirked, and walked up to her until she could feel his breath on her cheeks. He held her sword by the blade and threw it down; not fazed by the blood that was now slipping out of his hand. He leaned over her shoulder and chuckled in her ear.

"Princess, you're half right. I am Link. Yet I'm not. I'm what he should be. I'm his weakness. I'm…" He leaned even closer, and Zelda tried to move away, but was caught by his hand gripping on her waist. "…I'm dark Link."

Caught off guard by his very confusing answer, Zelda froze, unable to move. So…. _Was _he Link? Her dream suddenly became very clear; Nayru had told her to run. There had obviously been some change in her fate- some interference, that the goddesses had realised was not safe. She should've left as soon as she'd woken up. Or at least told Impa.

..Impa. Where was she?

"What have you done with Impa?" She snapped, pushing Dark Link away with all her might.

"Impa?" he asked, with a quizzical look. As he realised who she was talking about, a grin grew on his face. "Oh, that old sheikah woman? Don't worry about her, I'm saving her for later."

Zelda's eyes widened. She knew exactly what he meant by that. Her dismay quickly turned into anger. She scowled at him, and stepped forward. "You will not kill her. You will not hurt her. I swear, if you even touch her, I'll-"

She was cut off by Dark Link's insane laughter. "What will you do…" He laughed, pulling out his blood- covered sword once more, "…if you're dead?"

She stepped back. She wasn't surprised by his actions, she'd already guessed that this was going to happen. She stepped back and slowly closed her eyes. She smiled sadly, and chuckled. "If you're so intent on killing me then do it already…" she murmured, arms open wide. She braced herself for the killing blow. But when a few moments passed with no sound, no sword strike at all, she opened one of her eyes, and glanced at Dark Link. He'd frozen, his eyes were narrowed and he wasn't looking at her- he was looking behind him. He didn't look frightened, but he didn't look cocky, either.

"He's here." He mumbled. Footsteps echoed in the hall, and panting proved that whoever had just turned up had obviously run as fast as they could to get there.

"Get away from her." Came a very angry tone.

Dark Link smirked, and stepped aside, revealing a man clad in green. With shaggy blonde hair. With those cloudy, cerulean- blue eyes. There stood a very, very angry looking Link.

Link stepped forward, and pointed his bow straight at Dark Link. "Get away from her." He repeated.

Zelda couldn't help tears fall out of her eyes, and she fell to her knees. What on earth was happening here?

She watched as Dark Link stepped back, and closer to Link. He slowly put his sword back in his sheath, and put his hands up to show that he was holding no weapons.

"See?" He said mockingly, "I'm not a threat any longer."

Link put down his bow, and threw it across the hall. He drew his sword and pointed it at the other version of himself. "You are always a threat." He spat back. Invisible sparks were shot back and forward to the two look-a-like men, until Dark Link was finally out of the hall. Zelda watched in confusion as he left the castle with no more words, and, by the sounds of it, there wasn't any more attacking from him, either.

"Why did he just…. Leave?" She mumbled, not expecting anyone to answer her.

Link, with his back still facing her, answered quietly. "Because he knows that neither of us can win against each other." He slowly turned to face her, and slowly made his way up to her, with a very apologetic look on his face. He bit his lip and allowed Zelda to take everything in. Zelda stood up, and frowned at Link. Afraid that she wouldn't say anything and an awkward silence would form between them, Link stepped a little closer, and spoke very quietly. "I'm sorry."

Zelda bit back more tears, and slapped him- harder than she'd meant to. Link looked away, and put a hand on where she'd slapped him. He chuckled nervously, and sighed. "I deserved that."

"What happened to you? Why didn't you send any word at all? Do you know how…." She hesitated, walking up to him, and looked into his eyes, her violet ones studying him. "Do you know how worried I was?"

Link stared back at her, shook his head and put his sword away. "I'm going to explain everything. But whether you believe me or not is another story."

_A/N: END OF CHAPTER ONE! Please tell me what you think c: _

_I apologise, I'm terrible at writing battle scenes, haha. xD_


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